


Descent Part II - Talking It Over

by BoldBeverly



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M, Female Character In Command, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27994509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoldBeverly/pseuds/BoldBeverly
Summary: Commander Beverly Crusher destroyed a Borg ship, rescuing the crew under dire circumstances and it is never mentioned again. Can the woman get some recognition? What did Picard think of her actions? Stays in canon.
Relationships: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Descent Part II - Talking It Over

BRIDGE  
“Lt. Barnaby continually scan the surface for any transmissions or signs of the remaining staff,” Crusher ordered. 

The bridge crew tried various changes to the sensors to try and boost their output while Beverly retreated to the ready room to compose her log. Shortly after she returned to the bridge, Barnaby alerted her to contact from the remaining away team. 

“Commander,” Barnaby said, addressing her by her command rank as she was in charge of the Enterprise. “Incoming audio transmission from Commander Riker.”

“Will,” she said, “Are you all right?”

“Yes, it’s been eventful here, how is the Enterprise?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Suffice to say the Borg ship has been destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” he asked dumbfounded. “You DESTROYED a Borg ship?”

“I had assistance from an excellent bridge crew but, yes. It’s an interesting log entry,” she said with a smile. “Is everyone on the surface all right? We weren’t able to find you and the other command staff but we beamed everyone else up.” 

“Geordi will need medical attention but everyone else is in pretty good shape. I’ll have him and Deanna beamed up immediately.”

“I’ll meet them in sickbay,” she said. “Enterprise out.” 

“Barnaby you have the bridge,” Crusher said as she entered the turbolift. 

SICKBAY  
It was late when Captain Picard entered sickbay. Geordi lay sleeping on a biobed, a regeneration field around him. 

Dr. Crusher motioned him over to where she stood at the monitor across the room so that they could speak without disturbing LaForge. 

“He’ll be fine but he needs a few more treatments. I’ve told him I’ll authorize a return to duty in 3-4 days, depending on how he responds,” she said. 

“That’s certainly good to hear. It was touch and go there for a bit on the surface,” he told her. 

“I’m glad it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle,” said Crusher. 

‘Having looked briefly at your log, I’m not sure there is ANYTHING you can’t handle,” he said with a smile. 

She smiled back. “I learned from the best,” she said. “I’ll tell you all about it over breakfast, if you promise to tell me about what happened on the planet.”

“Provided you get some sleep, you have a deal,” he said. 

“Let me touch base with Dr. Hill and we can head out, I’d say we both need some rest,” she said. 

CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS  
Dr. Beverly Crusher entered, her lab coat draped over one arm and headed for her usual seat. Jean-Luc stood up and poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her. 

“How is Geordi this morning?” he asked, knowing she would have already gone and checked on him before coming to breakfast. 

“He’s responding very well. I let him out of sickbay for a bit and I’ll allow him resume light duty day after tomorrow providing he rests and eats well,” she said. “He wanted to go talk to Data, was insistent upon it in fact, what happened down there?”

“Apparently when Hugh returned to the Borg his newfound individuality did indeed have an impact, but not entirely what we had hoped,” he began. “It seems to have created a leadership vacuum which somehow Lore showed up to exploit.”

“Lore! That can’t have been good,” she said. 

“No, he was somehow able to manipulate the emotion chip and allow Data to access only emotions such as anger and fear. Lore had been experimenting on Borg drones and convinced Data to experiment on us. Lore forced Data to start with Geordi. I was honestly afraid he was going to kill him at one point.”

“That’s awful,” she said. “Manipulating his own brother to harm his best friend. It is so unbelievable to me that Data can be so inherently good and Lore so...evil seems strong but given these latest actions, appropriate.”

Picard nodded in agreement. “Data deactivated him so he is not a threat anymore. Hugh is now in charge of the Borg left on the surface so I’ve hope they will sort things out,” he told her. “I’ve read your report, but tell me about what happened on the Enterprise,” he prompted. 

“Once the Borg ship showed up, we started beaming people up as fast as we could and then we headed back to the transwarp conduit as you ordered,” she said. “But, since we had left so many people behind, I wanted to find a way to get them if we could. We decided to send a message back through the conduit via a probe and then we came back.”

“That was an interesting interpretation of my orders,” he said, his face bland. She was usually very good at reading him but she couldn’t quite tell if he was upset or not. 

“I’m unclear, am I being given a reprimand or recommended for a commendation?” she teased. 

“Given the outcome I’d wager on the side of a commendation - for you and your bridge crew,” he said. “I’m rather sure Starfleet Command will see it that way. Destruction of a Borg ship is no small feat.” 

“Are you personally upset? Do you think I did the right thing?” she asked. His opinion mattered more to her than that of faceless Admirals back on Earth. 

He took a deep breath. “Part of me wishes you had taken the ship back to Federation space and stayed safe but you acted in what you believed to be the best interests of the crew, the most that can ever be asked of a captain. You acted decisively and correctly. Although I will admit, I’m a bit disconcerted at your love of flying into stars,” he said with a smile. 

“It does have a certain flair doesn’t it? Maybe they’ll call it the ‘Crusher Maneuver’.” she suggested with an impish grin. 

He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. 

“What?” she said.

“You are a daring woman Beverly, sometimes it is a bit overwhelming to think of the risks that you take,” he said with a sigh. 

“Me? You beamed yourself and most of the crew down to a planet likely infested with Borg where sensors don't function well - and you managed to get kidnapped. Not to mention some of your other recent escapades, like single-handedly fighting thieves on the Enterprise and getting shot in the chest!” 

“I suppose we’d both better keep our wills up-to-date,”’ he quipped. 

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and go out in a blaze of glory together,” she suggested. 

“As long as we’re together,” he said with a smile. He took a croissant off the tray and passed it to her.


End file.
